John Cornyn faced a loud backlash from fellow Republicans on Friday over negotiating a bipartisan gun reform package, with his speech at the Texas Republican Convention overshadowed by a chorus of boos.
On November 10, 2020, Washington will be inaugurated. This photo was taken by Susan Walsh.
Cornyn spoke for 14 minutes on Friday as he promoted his talk about keeping guns out of the hands of criminals and people with mental illness.
Last month's mass shooting at an elementary school in Uvalde, Texas, led to bipartisan gun reform legislation being pursued.
A group of senators announced Sunday that they had agreed on a framework for a bill, which includes the creation of a federal grant program to encourage states to pass red flag laws and the inclusion of mental health records in background checks for gun buyers.
Cornyn won no respite from the jeering when he said he had quashed ideas like an assault weapons ban, universal background checks and a ban on high-capacity magazines.
Cornyn won't support new restrictions for law-abiding citizens. We are working on a framework that is in line with the red line.
The Senate is going to go on a two-week recess after this week because they haven't agreed on the text of the bill. There is an unresolved issue over the wording of theboyfriend loophole. Domestic violence offenders can't buy guns if they abuse a spouse, a partner or a child with them. The framework called for closing the loophole by banning gun purchases for those who abuse a partner in a continuing relationship of a romantic or intimate nature.
The plan has been criticized by both sides, but still appears likely to lead to the most significant federal action on gun control in decades. Raising the age to buy semi-automatic rifles from 18 to 21 is one of the stronger restrictions that the House Democrats passed last week. The effort was blasted by hard-right Republicans who claimed it was a slippery slope towards more gun control. After the Uvalde shooting, Donald Trump slammed calls for gun control as agrotesque.
McConnell supports a bipartisan gun control deal.
The House passed sweeping gun control measures.
There is no gun control following the Texas school shooting.
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